Plush, V/H/S among Momentum’s Berlin and Sundance buying spree

Alliance subsidiary Momentum Pictures UK has acquired a raft of sought-after titles out of Sundance and Berlin, including Catherine Hardwicke’s erotic thriller Plush from IM Global. Set in the Los Angeles music scene, Evan Rachel Wood [pictured] plays a musician who gets more than she bargained for after a one-night stand leads to danger for her and her family.

Among Momentum’s impressive shopping spree are a handful of strong French titles from Wild Bunch, including Francois Ozon’s In the House, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, about a gifted student’s curious relationship with his schoolmate’s family; portmanteau film The Players, a series of short films set around the theme of infidelity, featuring Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, Guillaume Canet and directors Michel Hazanavicius and Fred Cavaye; and romance Populaire about a small town girl who finds love and success through typewriting, with Romain Duris, Deborah Francois and Berenice Bejo.

Controversial thriller V/H/S, about a group of misfits hired to burglarise a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, was another unannounced pick-up out of Sundance, while Momentum will be hoping for another Scandinavian home-run with 14th century-set thriller Escape, from TrustNordisk, about a young girl who must evade her captors who have brutally killed her family.

Previously announced titles include Berlin acquisitions A Most Wanted Man from Anton Corbijn, John McDonagh’s Calvary with Brendan Gleeson, Can a Song Save your Life? with Scarlett Johanssen and Mark Ruffalo, Everly starring Kate Hudson as a woman who must fight off waves of assassins and Robot and Frank out of Sundance.

UK thrillers include Blood from Nick Murphy starring Paul Bettany and WWI story A Forbidden Ground.

Robert Walak, svp of acquisitions worldwide for Alliance Films, said: “We are very excited to bolster our release slate with such a diverse range of films. Ranging from big Hollywood names to European superstars and some of the most exciting talents in British film, these deals underline the confidence we have in our longstanding relationships and new partnerships with independent film makers at home and abroad.”